


Wish You Were Here

by Pass1onAndH0pe



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Backstory, Gen, Headcanon, Underswap Papyrus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-20
Updated: 2016-05-20
Packaged: 2018-06-09 13:21:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6908839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pass1onAndH0pe/pseuds/Pass1onAndH0pe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So I'll be digging into the time spent before Frisk arrived, and before multiple resets started leaving their mark on the Underground. Couple of nice twists here and there for my headcanons' sake.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. You Piper (Side One)

After spending an "ample amount" of years in New Home Sans decided they should move out. He suggested the brothers should move to the little town of Snowdin. After hearing what kind of town it was (small and friendly), and the fact it was close to Waterfall where the new leader of the royal guard lived, Papyrus was attached to the idea. Immensely attached as he made it his dream to become part of the Royal Guard. What better way to get a headstart than by befriending the head of the Royal Guard herself! This would become the only time Sans allowed himself to touch the lot of gold granted to him by Asgore after... _ **after-**_

"BROTHER! IS THAT THE LAST BOX?" Sans was snapped out of his thoughts immediately. He hefted the box in his hands and set it down gently on the floor. Today was move in day, and that meant boxes galore. There had been silence between them as they moved boxes into the new house.  


"yeah," Sans answered looking around the box filled living room. The staircase caught his eye and an idea came to him about how to break up the awkwardness. "race you upstairs."  


"FOR WHAT REASON?"  


"dibs on who gets a better bedroom."  


"YOU'RE ON!" They both bolted for the staircase but Papyrus beat Sans fair and square up the steps to the landing. Huffing and puffing, the smaller skeleton leaned against the banister.  


"alright, you put up a good fight."  


"OF COURSE I DO. I AIM TO BE A ROYAL GUARDSMEN AFTER ALL!"  


"heh heh heh."  


"WHY DO YOU LAUGH?"  


"no real reason," Sans replied shrugging his shoulders. Papyrus narrowed his eye sockets but went on to explore the two rooms. He loudly exclaimed how each had its pros and cons: the smaller would be easier to keep tidy but the bigger room would house his collections better. Deciding on the larger one, they both began moving their labelled boxes.  


The door pulled shut, sitting alone in the dark, Sans sat down on the floor. The last box had been piled and he needed a moment to himself. _what is this? sans? is that sans?_  


Papyrus crouched down next to the skeleton appearing as his brother. He wore a newly bought blue hoodie, shorts, and a tired expression. Papyrus became mildly confused to see his brother taking after his own fashion sense. And why wasn't his bro looking as chipper as he was used to seeing?

  


"maybe here we'll get a fresh start. staying in new home wasn't gonna work much longer. i'm glad we both knew that," Sans muttered to himself staring across the room. There wasn't much to see and it fit the mood oddly enough.  


_Papyrus made himself comfortable next to Sans. He knew the drill. Just wish he had a smoke to make it seem like time would go faster._  


"maybe here we'll...get to know each other better. i have to admit. i haven't been the best brother around. not for a long time." Sans paused to listen to his brother's footsteps downstairs. "i made a promise that day. i won't go back on it. i owe dad and pap that much."  


_It was shocking how familiar it all sounded. Almost down to the last word. Papyrus let his gaze shift to the door as he saw himself open it to allow light to spill in._  


"SANS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THE DARK?"  


"oh y'know, waiting for hue to come in." _oh y'know, waiting for hue to come in. heh heh._  


"OH MY GOD! THIS IS NO TIME FOR PUNS! I FINISHED UNPACKING FOR THE KITCHEN. WE NEED TO COOK DINNER!"  


"i'll be right there." _i'll be right there._  


Papyrus turned and left. Sans stood and stared at the floor thinking for a few seconds more on what this move in day meant. _sans i don't think you can hear me, but you'll always be my best bro, ok? you always do your best for me, and hell, for everyone far as i know. even here i know you'll do your best. so i'll do my best, for you, to keep you happy.  
_

Papyrus knew Sans couldn't feel his touch, but he still put a hand to Sans' shoulder as he said that. Lifting it he watched as it, along with the rest of himself, disappeared from the room.  


Sans looked around confused as to why he felt something in there with him. Perhaps the darkness was playing tricks on him. Huh, so maybe the whole dark room schtick wasn't such a good idea. He walked out and joined Papyrus in the kitchen to make hot dogs for dinner since that was all Sans knew how to cook.


	2. You Winner and Loser (Side Two)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some of Pap's dialogue is left un-capped for emphasis on what's said. Enjoy your feels

It's been a few weeks since the brothers moved to Snowdin. Papyrus made his great first impression on Undyne the head of the Royal Guard. Sans was happy for him and supported Papyrus going to his private sessions with Undyne. Right now, Sans sat alone in the living room hooking up their new television. Papyrus was out buying things for battle practice.

Sans sat down on the couch holding the remote in his hand. He was going to flip it on, but something held him back. A sudden drop in motivation. Inside of him it felt like a stone had been dropped into a deep pool. Why did he have this sudden sense of foreboding? Setting down the remote, Sans took a flip phone out of his pocket calling his brother.

"Hello?"

"Hey, what's up?" _this again?_

"I need your help, can you come here?"

"Uh, I can't, I'm buying clothes." _wait, this conversation._

_Papyrus sat down next to the Sans who wasn't his own. He reached and put a hand on the other's arm as if to pull away the phone. This was gonna go south real soon._

Sans felt his emotions tug in a bad direction. He knew normally a person would step back, take a breath, but this emotional rush was no stranger. The skeleton became deadset. _you're gonna regret this buddy, stop it._

"Alright, well hurry up and get over here."

"...I can't find them."

"What do you mean you can't find them?"

"I can't find them, there's only soup." _you freaking idiot stop it, right now._

"It means there's only soup."

"What do you mean there's only soup?"

"It means, brother, that there's only soup."

"Well then, get out of the SOUP AISLE!" Sans let his voice rise along with his emotions. He felt the rush washing over him, and the reason it felt familiar? These were some old demons that had sprung up.

"Alright, you don't have to shout at me!" The way Papyrus's voice changed to defensive added a bitter aftertaste to the catharsis. He listened to his brother's footsteps through the receiver.

"There's more soup," Papyrus reported. Sans could sense himself unhinging. _stop it you, you, you're going to make him-_

"Go into the next aisle!" Hurried footsteps.

"There's STILL SOUP!"

"WHERE ARE YOU RIGHT NOW?" Sans allowed his voice and emotion to fly completely off the handle. Not cleanly with a pirouette, either as his hand gripped the flip phone tighter.

"I'M AT SOUP!" Papyrus's voice cracked or maybe it was the receiver not dealing well with his shouting.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE AT SOUP?"

"I MEAN I'M AT SOUP!"

"WHAT STORE ARE YOU IN?"

"I'M AT THE SOUP STORE!" _you goddamned idiot._

"WHY ARE YOU BUYING CLOTHES AT THE SOUP STORE?" Papyrus didn't reply. The call ended after Sans heard a stifled noise. It was then he noticed how irregular his breathing had become. He snapped his phone shut and tossed it aside onto a couch cushion. Sans waited for the throbbing anger in his head to subside.

_Papyrus sat next to Sans with his head held by his hands. What a shitty moment to relive. He'd yelled at Sans the same way for the same stupid thing. He knew he should have gone with him. He knew he should have said something about his lingering feelings sooner. A right ass he was for letting himself go like that._

Sans didn't like psychoanalyzing himself, but he was a smart cookie. Misplaced feelings were real toxic if they aren't dealt with. He thought about reaching for the phone, calling to apologize, but Papyrus sounded pretty shaken up. It'd have to wait until he came back, and if Papyrus would come back.

"i'm such a damn ass." _i'm such a damn ass._

Hours passed and Sans checked the time on his flip phone. It was getting late into the evening, and past dinner time. The skeleton had not moved from the couch. Deciding that his brother was staying at Undyne's Sans began to move. He could at least be decent enough to lie in bed. _just wait for it._

The front door clicked softly open and Papyrus stepped through. He shut it behind him and looked at Sans. Sans looked at him, and they made eye contact without flinching. Papyrus was holding a bag in each hand. Sans had to start this, he knew, and yet he hesitated. Beginning to open his mouth Papyrus intervened,

"SANS, IT'S OKAY. I THINK I UNDERSTAND WHY IT HAPPENED. WHY YOU..." His eyes almost trailed off along with the sentence. "WELL, IT TOOK ME A WHILE TO FIGURE IT OUT. I HAD TO THINK ABOUT IT REAL HARD WHILE VISITING WATERFALL AFTER I FINALLY BOUGHT SOME CLOTHES."

Sans searched his brother's face for further acknowledgement of the truth. Had Papyrus figured out the truth? The reason why he'd done all that in the first place?

"I DON'T THINK YOU HONESTLY HATE ME. I BELIEVE YOU'RE BETTER THAN THAT! YOU'RE MY ONLY BROTHER, AND THE BEST ONE I'LL EVER HAVE. YOU'VE DONE SO MUCH FOR ME ALREADY SINCE WE MOVED HERE! I THINK FROM NOW ON I'M GOING TO DO MY BEST TO REPAY YOU FOR THAT. I HAVE TO BE THE BEST BROTHER I CAN BE STARTING NOW."

Papyrus watched Sans stand up and walk over. His expression was pained but he still managed a smile.

"pap." _sans._ "you're already the best bro anyone could ask for. c'mere." Sans pulled Papyrus into a hug the taller one kneeling to make it easier.

"SANS? IS THAT TRUE?"

"you bet it is. and you're much cooler to boot." He paused looking over at the bags. One of them looked like it was from Grillby's. "did you get dinner?"

"YEAH. YOU SAID YOU LIKED GRILLBY'S SO I TOUGHED OUT THE GREASE AND WENT THERE."

_Papyrus stood up from the couch watching the two make their way to the kitchen. A conversation began, but he already knew what was going to be said, and what would remain secret. He settled his hands inside the pockets of his orange jacket while thinking the whole thing over. It was weird to relive memories in this flipped situation. Maybe they were flipped for a reason. It would be something he would have to think over later. Right now he wanted to make sure his own Sans was doing fine at home._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The argument dialogue is from a popular meme. And there actually was a comic done specifically with Sans and Papyrus (comic dub video on Youtube is titled SOUPER and the art is by myrobotlandlord on tumblr).


End file.
